Tornado
by Megan Falley
In 2025 Megan Falley lost the love of her life poet Andrea Gibson.
TORNADO
by Megan Falley
The careless way you’d salt a tomato,
no napkin or plate beneath it.
Just right over the floor,
your summer snow, trusting
someone else would sweep it.
And you never took your boots off.
Only ever used half a stevia packet.
The rest would collect in the crevices
of car doors, divots no vacuum could reach.
There was nothing you couldn’t fix
with duct tape, or shoelaces
stolen from other people’s shoes.
And you broke everything
you borrowed. All those stains
you called heart-shaped.
Plus you lost my heirlooms.
Not because you didn’t care,
but because you moved so fast,
like maybe you always knew
you would leave too soon—
so why waste a minute
screwing the cap back on
the pickle jar? Do you remember
how many times you thought
something was stolen?
That we’d been invaded?
Because you couldn’t wait
that extra breath to look.
There is a wonderful film about their life entitled Come See Me in the Good Light which is so worth watching if you haven't seen it already. And this New York Times interview with Megan Falley from the Modern Love section of the newspaper.
Keith Haring at the Brant Foundation
But there truly isn't any place like New York City, where I was last week, just for the sheer quantity of exciting choices. And I took advantage of that and packed it in during the six days I was there...I shared some of that in last week's newsletter but below are some of the images from a Keith Haring show I saw at The Brant Foundation on 6th Street in the East Village. The building itself is stunning and a perfect place to see art. (I still remember the Basquiat show there several years ago). Here are some of Haring's work on display that stood out to me:
Keith Haring at the Brant Foundation in NYC
Interview with actress Katherine LaNasa
I am done binge watching the second series (can't wait for the third, out most likely in January 2027), so I have been fishing around for some behind the scenes videos about the show and came across this interview with Katherine LaNasa on the podcast Q with Tom Power.
I love this woman. Self described as the "pretty girl that was weird", she got a late start to acting and her approach to the craft is intuitive (much like how I approach painting). "I am not a cerebral actor--I kind of squint at it." I can relate...Her conversation is frank, open, even when she talks about her experience with breast cancer and the humbling that took place with her diagnosis. Nurse Dana is for her a love letter to all the people who treated her kindly during that time.
Katherine La Nasa has some important lessons to teach us: she believes it is never too late to stop growing, to perservere, know that life contains its hills and valleys, and to believe in yourself. As beautiful as she is as Nurse Dana, I take away from this interview (and her time on Stephen Colbert) that she is equally beautiful in life.
Why am I not surprised that the Tom Power podcast and the interviewer Garvia Bailey are Canadians...
Products of the Week
Need a last minute Mother’s Day gift? Pam Smilow, Botanical Tea Towels, cotton linen blend. $28 each
Charity of the Week:
ACLU
Book of the Week
About The Author
New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow, began writing the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.